Working in intercultural teams is increasingly becoming an everyday reality in many companies, including in virtual contexts. This involves recognizing and appreciating cultural diversity, adapting one's actions accordingly, and effectively communicating and collaborating with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, that is, intercultural competence. This course equips students with the practical experience of dealing with multi-faceted challenges of intercultural (virtual) teamwork as well as the underlying theoretical knowledge. 

Student learning centers on the intercultural simulation game “Megacities”, which involves a simulated virtual collaboration of several student teams. The virtual meetings are accompanied by input sessions, reflective tasks, discussions in class, as well as a group assignment that are aimed at developing participants’ intercultural competence.  

Note that the online simulation sessions will be recorded for educational purposes within this course. 

Students must join the six online sessions with a computer, webcam, and stable internet connection to ensure they can speak and participate actively. 

After completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the importance of intercultural competence with a special focus on teamwork and negotiation

• Evaluate the opportunities and challenges of working in intercultural teams with respect to the teams’ developmental stages and specific aspects of collaboration in virtual environments 

• Actively promote group identity and manage rapport strategically

• Demonstrate awareness of their own roles and resources in group processes

• Understand different functions of communication channels and make informed choices for specific contexts 

• Apply effective negotiation strategies with a focus on virtual communication 

• Reflect on their own experience of working in intercultural settings and learn from this experience 

• Work with recordings of the online simulation sessions to identify and analyze aspects of intercultural communication and manifestations of intercultural competence 

Attendance and active participation are mandatory, especially during the online simulation sessions. 

Teaching and  learning is based on the following methods:

• Input (theoretical frameworks, models, etc.) & readings
• Participation in a collaborative project with different student teams, in the form of a virtual simulation game, as well as a group project involving the analysis of the recorded session, with a focus on their own team's performance and practices.
• Debriefing and discussions (in class)
• Detailed analyses of situations and reflection (in assignments)

In line with the PI format of the course, there will be three assessment components:

• 20 % participation  

• 40 % individual assignment (learning portfolio) 

• 40 % group project 

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